Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Changing the User Name in Existing Comments.

Changing the User Name in Existing Comments

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 19, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


1

Denise notes that when she uses Track Changes and inserts a comment, the user's name shows in the comment. When she is ready to finalize the document, but with Track Changes still on, Denise wonders if she can go back and change the user name on one or more comments.

There are a couple of things you can do to make the changes. First, you could change the user name and initials to the name you want in the comments and then, effectively, recreate the comments. (You can copy the comment into the Clipboard and then paste it back into the document.) This has a downside, however, as the date and time stamp for the comment will be updated to reflect when you recreated the comment.

Perhaps a better approach is to use a macro to make the changes. When a comment is created, it is added to the Comments collection, which can be accessed through VBA. Each comment has Author and Initial properties that, respectively, represent the comment author's name and initials. The following macro is an example of how these can be changed:

Sub ChangeCommentAuthor()
    Dim J As Integer
    Dim sAuthorname As String
    Dim sInitial As String

    If Selection.Comments.Count = 0 Then
        MsgBox "No comments in your selection!", _
          vbCritical + vbOKOnly, "Cannot perform action"
        Exit Sub
    End If

    sAuthorname = InputBox("New author name?", _
      "Comments Author Name")
    If sAuthorname = "" Then End

    sInitial = InputBox("New author initials?", _
      "Comments Initials")
    If sInitial = "" Then End

    With Selection
        For J = 1 To .Comments.Count
            .Comments(J).Author = sAuthorname
            .Comments(J).Initial = sInitial
        Next J
    End With
End Sub

All you need to do is make a selection that contains the comment you want to modify (select the text in the main document that includes the comment indicator) and then run the macro. Enter a new name and initials when prompted. When the macro is done running, it may not appear like anything has changed, depending on your version of Word. If this is the case, then save your document and reload it. You should then see the updated information in the comments.

I should also note that this macro will work with both traditional comments (called "notes" in the latest versions of Word) and with threaded comments. If you actually have comments threaded (meaning an original comment and replies to that comment) it will affect all levels of the comments.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8614) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing the User Name in Existing Comments.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Inserting a Document's Size

Want to insert the size of your document directly into the document body? You can do so by using one of the dynamic ...

Discover More

Workaround for Multiple Rows of Worksheet Tabs

If you've got a lot of worksheets in your workbook, you may want to display their tabs in to rows at the bottom of the ...

Discover More

Printing Only Non-Blank Worksheets

If you have a workbook containing many worksheets, you might want to print only those worksheets that have some sort of ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Comments in Text Boxes

If you use text boxes in your documents, you may sometime want to place a comment in the text box, the same as you can do ...

Discover More

Moving Text to a New Footnote

For certain types of work, footnotes are a necessity. Word provides an easy way to create new footnotes, but what about ...

Discover More

Using Multiple References to a Single Comment

Find yourself repeating the same comment over and over? Here's a couple of ways you can save some typing by simply ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 6 + 3?

2024-10-20 19:47:54

Steven Maier

I find it's easiest to save the document as a .xml file. Close Word and open the .xml file in WordPad. You can then search "xxx" and replace with "yyy". This will change not only the name in the comments but also the author of any redlining. This technique also works to remove any locking on the document such as no changes to editing. In WordPad, search for 'enforcement'. When you find 'enforcement=1", change the 1 to 0. In both cases, save and open in Word and save as .docx

Steve Maier


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.